William h



(No Model.)

W. H. PORTER. COMBINED DESK AND TYPE WRITER CABINET.

No. 865,275. Patented June 21, 1887.

UNITE STATES ATENT FFICE.

COMBINED DESK AND TYPE-WRITER CABINET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 365,275, dated June 21,1887.

Application filed March 10, 1887.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, XVILLIAM H. PORTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at \Vashington, in the District of Columbia, have in ventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Combined Desk and Type-\VritcrCabinets; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification, andin which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved desk andtype-writer cabinet open. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of thesame closed. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing 1nodifications, and Fig. 4is a detail view of parts of the desk.

Since the perfection and adoption of typewriting machines, they havebecome an almost necessary feature in every well-regulated oflice; but,like all machinery, they must be kept as free from dust as possible togive the best results. To do this requires that they must be covered,and to provide such a cover as shall be convenient, neat, and tidy haslong been the desire of business men and the subject of the inventivemind. As a stand and a receptacle for stationery, &c., must be provided,as well as a cover, I have combined them all in a cabinet, which canalso be utilized as an ordinary desk, and at the same time in such amanner that the change from the one to the other is quickly and easilymade.

Thisinvention therefore relates to that class of desks in which when thetop is closed the machine is lowered, and when it is opened the machineis raised into position; and it consists in the improved constructionand combination of parts of such a desk, as will be hereinafter moreparticularly described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which the same letters of referenceindicate corresponding parts in all the figures, A represents the deskor cabinet, which can be of any desired size and degree ofornamentation, and which can be provided with drawers at one or bothends. In a desk having drawers at each end Serial No. 230,418. (Nomodel.)

a space, B, is left between them, within which a platform, C, issecured, preferably by means of pivots intermediate its ends. This pivotconsists of a short bolt, D, at each side of the platform,screw-threaded at each end, one end being screwed into the platform andthe other end passed through a suitable hole in each of the innerpanels, and provided with a nut upon its outer end.

To keep the edges of the platform from rnbbing against the inner panelsas it is being swung up and down when opening and closingthe desk, awasher, E, is placed between them at each pivot. These washers arepreferably made of some material which is a nonconductor of sound, asrubber or leather, and thus help to deaden the sound of the machine whenbeing operated. Similar washers can also be used upon the outer ends ofthe bolts between the nuts and the panels, and a thimble or sleeve, F,of the same kind of material can be placed around each pivot in the holethrough the panel, thus almost completely in sulating the platformacoustically from the rest of the desk.

Instead of the two bolts for pivots, a solid bar can be passed entirelyacross the space and have its ends secured in the panels in the samemanner as the bolts D. This construction adds great strength to thefront of the desk, as the nuts at the ends of the pivots enable thepanels to be drawn tightly against the sides or edges of the platform,and which will prevent the two ends of the desk from being drawn awayfrom each othcrin moving the desk, which would have a tendency to breakthem apart if they were not properly braced or secured together. Byscrewing the ends of the short bolts into the platform, the platformitself takes the place of the continu ous bar from panel to panel. Bysecuring the panels or ends of the desk to the edges of the platform inthis manner the ordinary crosspiece is dispensed with, which thusenables the operator to secure acloser position to the desk when closedthan if the cross-piece were used, as it would necessarily be so low asto be in the way.

The cover or top of the desk is composed of three sections, the middleone of which, G, is secured to the edge of one of the other sec- ICOtions by means of blind or the ordinary hinges,

. be used for any of the ordinary purposes of a deskin either position.The ordinary drawers or slldes can be placed at each side underneath theend sections ofthe top or cover,

which can be used either when using the device as a cabinet or as adesk. Secured at one end to the under side of this middle swingingsection, G, by means of a hinge-joint, is the rod H, to the other end ofwhich is hinged the rod I, which in turn is pivotally secured to therear portion of the platform 0. The

bar H is secured to the section of the cover G at such a distance fromits hinge edge that when the cabinet is open the inner end of the barwill project a slight distance beyond that edge. This will cause the rodI to occupy more nearly a vertical position at all times,

and will also cause the portion of the bar H that projects beyond theedge to act as a lever in raising the platform when the desk is beingopened, using the hinge between the covers as a fulcrum. When thesection G is lying flat upon the end section when the desk is open, itsweight is sufficient, owing to the great advantage it has in leverage,to holdup the weight of the machine on the platform without any catches,hooks, or other means of support.

As the machine cannot be operated as conveniently when placed as high asan ordinary desk, the platform-is placed at some'distance from the topof the panels, so that when open the machine will be of the right heightfor convenience; but when the desk is closed it will'be the same as anordinary desk, both in appearance and in convenience, the cover be- Asthis placing of ingat the usual height. the platform below the level ofthe top of the desk would leave a space between the front of it and thecover or top when closed, which would admit dust, 850., and also makethe desk have an unfinished appearance, I place the pivots-on which theplatform swings at such a distance from the front as that when the rearend of the platform'has been let down to its lowest point the front endhas been raised until it just touches the lower side of the cover, thusmaking a close joint and enabling the operator to lock the desk by meansof the or- .dinary lock and key. Another advantage secured by thisconstruction is that when the platform is swung into its horizontalposition ready for use its front edge is caused to project some distancein front of the desk, which will enable the operator to draw the machinepartly out from between the ends of the desk.

The platform can be made long enough so that when in its horizontalposition its rear end will extend to the back of the desk, or it can bemade a trifle shorter, and a piece, J, secured to it at an angle, sothat when in its lowered position the piece J will occupy a horizontalposition; and as the platform swlngs 1n a circle when in its loweredposition its rear end will be at some distance from the back, leaving aspace through which dust could have access. A bottom piece, K, can besecured to the back andinner panels, as shown in Fig. 3, against whichthe rear end of the platform will restwhen the desk is closed.

To give the desk more the appearance of an ordinary desk when closed, apendent leaf, L, (shown in'dotted line in Fig. 2,) can be hinged to theunder side of the platform near its front edge, which will hang down andgive the ap pearance of the ordinary drawer, the lower edge of whichmust be allowed to swing freely,

so as not to interfere with the person of the operator when using themachine'or desk.

To prevent the machine from slipping down the platform when the desk isclosed, it 1s secured by means of the ordinary stopsor blocks,

and to prevent damage to the machine by raising theplatform quicklystop-blocks M can be secured to the inner panels at the proper height,against which the platform will strike when it is raised. A button, offelt or leather, can be-placed upon the swinging top section, G, in sucha position that when the desk is opened the bar H will strike upon thebutton instead of the cover,and thus the sound will be deadened. Insteadof hinge-joints being used to secure the end of this bar to the cover orof the bar and rod together, the ordinary hook-and -eye joint can beused, the only requisite being that sufficient play be given to theparts to prevent binding or breaking as the desk is being closed oropened.

If it is not desired to secure the platform upon pivots, as abovedescribed, it can be hinged at its front end to a cross-piece, N,secured at its'ends to the front portion of the inner panels, and beswung up and down at its rear end in the same manner as though it werepivoted at its sides. When this construction is .used, a frontdoorpiece, 0, must also be hinged to this cross-piece, opening outward,so that when the desk is open the door can be let down into a horizontalposi-' tion, so that access can be had to the machine,

and, if desired, the machine can be drawn out in the same manner as withthe other platform.

It will be seen that the swinging top and.

platform canbe used upon a desk having chine as well as with the drawersupon both sides of the desk. It will be necessary, however, to providethe desk at that end with the ordinary swinging brace or support to keepthe cover in a horizontal position when it is opened for use. As in thisstyle the edge of the cover is hinged to the side panel of the desk inthe same manner asit is shown hinged to one section of the cover, andthe brace is of any ordinary construction, they have not beenillustrated.

It is evident that in a desk having one section of the cover hinged toswing over laterally, it can be opened and closed easily and quickly bythe operator without rising from his seat or by an operator who has notsuch an abundance of muscular power as to be able to operate it if hehad to reach out at arms length and force it up and down; but with myimprovement the power is applied at the most advantageous point and inthe most advantageous way, as the cover must swing through a half-circlein raising the platform and machine a few inches, and when the desk isclosed it can be used for all the ordinary uses of a flat top desk, andby making the top inclined have all the advantages of the inclined-topdesk.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to-secure byLetters Patent of the United States- 1. In a combined desk andtypewriter cabinet, the combination, with a desk having its top insections,one of which is hinged thereto, of a platform pivotally securedintermediate its ends below said swinging section, the front end ofwhich is adapted to be raised to touch said swinging section when thedesk is closed, and means, substantially as described, for connectingsaid platform and said section.

2. In a combined desk and type-writer cabinet,theoombination,withadeskhavingits top in sections, one of which is hinged thereto, of aplatform pivotally secured below said swi nging section, the front endof which is adapted to project in front of the desk when open orin ahorizontal position, and means, substantially as described, forconnecting said platform and said swinging section.

3. In a combined desk and typewritercab- 5o inet, the combination of. adesk the ends of which are entirely disconnected at their front portionsand each provided with a hole, a sleeve of non sound conducting materialwithin each of said holes, a platform between said ends, a pivot uponeach edge or side of said platform and projecting through said sleevesin said holes, firmly securing the ends of thedesk to the platform,washers of non-sound-conducting material upon said pivots and betweenthe edges of the platform and the ends of the desk,

a cover hinged above said platform,and means, substantially asdescribed, for connecting said cover and platform.

4. In a combined desk and typewriter cabinet, the combination, with adesk having its top in sections, one of which is hinged to swinglaterally, of a platform pivotally secured be low said section and ajointed bar pivotally secured at its ends to said platform and saidswinging section.

5. In acom'bined desk and type-writer cab- 6. In a combined desk andtype-writer cabinet, the combination of a desk, the ends of which areentirely disconnected at their front portions and having a space betweenthem, a platform within said space firmly secured at its sides to thesaid ends, a cover above said platform, and means, substantially asdescribed, for connecting said cover and plat- 0 form.

In testimony whereofI afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

\VILLIAM H. PORTER.

\Vitnesses:

W. CLARENCE DUVALL, W. S. BoYD.

